Agency apologises for ‘tofu is gay meat’ ad concept

Scholz & Friends designed the ad, which shows a steak branded with the words ‘Tofu ist schwules fleisch’ for a restaurant chain, but it was never used in public, Der Spiegel reported.

A spokesman for Scholz & Friends told Der Spiegel that the firm apologised for the steak advert, which has been hosted on the Art Directors Club website after the campaign won a prize in the competition it was designed for.

Scooping a silver, the steak image was displayed on the ADC website along with other images from the campaign mock-up without complaint from 2009 until this week.

The advert-makers said of the image: “We would not do that today, and regret that the feelings of homosexual people were hurt.”

1. I just don't get it. I don't get why anyone would make such an ad.

I don't get the whole "gay meat" concept they are going for. I don't think it's funny, or snarky, or even mean--I just think it is dumb. It's not even an attempt, near as I can see, at a play on words (like that controversial fish sticks thing with Kanye West on South Park). It's just a dumb-ass comment.

Are they trying to suggest that tofu is not sufficiently "masculine" to be an alternative to meat, perhaps? Who ascribes a gender to one's food? What sort of person would personalize their meal in that fashion as a matter of routine? Were they perhaps going for a "Real men don't eat quiche" flavor?

More than offensive, it's just stupid. And probably "stupid" is the greatest crime of all.